Abbot
I noticed that I didn't gain any fat despite eating double my BMR per day (3.4k cal vs 1.7k cal). In my case, I do think I'm expending at least 1.5k more calories in my recovery. I've always eaten a high protein diet since I gymed. Calcium and vitamin supplements will be part of your post-op prescription.
V21 & DonBones
I think he's very lucky to have only lost 4mm after lengthening 8cm. Elsewhere I've read that people generally lose 1mm for every 1cm lengthened. If someone were to lengthen 10cm, he would only gain 9cm in height. In my case, I lost 5mm after only lengthening 2.2cm, which is quite disturbing.
Day 28
Today is the last day of my sickleave. I will probably have less time to write diaries in the future, but I think today is a pretty good transition point.
1) I've lengthened 23.62mm by clicks and initial gap. However, my measured increase has only been 17mm. This >5mm gap is quite consistent and concerning. I believe a screw might be bent somewhere and is reducing my height. This was what frequently happened to others who magically lost height during lengthening.
2) This is why I've since been using both crutches when I'm outside. I'd rather not take my chances with Betzbone not deforming over the lengthening period. Heck, I've seen x-rays of Stryde nails bending. I think walking without crutches is definitely an advertising stunt for all "full weight-bearing" nails. You should always walk long distances with crutches simply so you don't have to replace your nail in another surgery.
3) The clicking on my left leg has been trivial. Almost no pain and I can do all 20 clicks in 10 minutes. The right leg still has pain, but technique improvements has allowed me to reduce it to a brief second. I did it in a little over an hour. 1.5 hours in total today, which has been a record. I believe at this rate, I can get it down to 30 minutes in a month, which would be manageable with work.
4) I will be finally getting my first post-home-lengthening x-rays next week. I really hope there's callus and no nail/screws are deformed, especially since Germany has put more quarantine restrictions on travelling. Will be the biggest update since op. Stay tuned 
Bilateral Femur Lengthening Dairy: May 2021 with Dr Betz and Betzbone
Day 31
A few small developments over the past few days.
1) Sleeping with Tizanidin (muscle relaxer), and Novaminsulfron (painkiller), gave me an 8-hour sleep. I did not take increased dose, but just elongated each pill-period to 8 hours instead of 6. I woke up briefly in the night, but was able to go back to sleep easily. It was simply the best sleep I got since the start of lengthening.
2) I've weaned myself completely off Tramadol. I found it to not provide any additional pain relief. Since it was an opoid, I was slightly depressed for 2 days.
3) Clicking with Ibuprofen (another painkiller) can be done with minimal pain. This is the best tip I can give for those who face pain clicking.
4) It is actually quite good to do this procedure over the summer, because we are more active and the muscles will be warmer. (lucky us)
5) I found being active (walking a lot) to be the single biggest contributor to the recovery. Walking while forcing each step to close your legs really helps. In terms of sleep, pain, and mood, I'm at my best following days of abundant walking. It is extremely exhausting, but I found it much more effective than stationary stretching.
28.97mm
Thought it'd probably be better to denote the lengthening progress through length rather than date.
1) Slept on a latex foam topper last night. I was skeptical at first after reading about it on the forums, but it did indeed improve my sleep. I got a full 6 hours last night, and woke up with fewer sores.
2) Stopped taking Ibuprofen for clicking too, as the clicking pain has improved yet again. So the only painkiller I'm on is Novalgin. It doesn't do much, but it's supposed to relax muscles.
3) I've gone back to work part-time (4 hours a day). I intended to work full-time, but between sleep, stretch, and physio, conforming to a standard work schedule is extremely difficult.
4) No sign of duckass yet
5) My wide legs are hideous despite my best stretching efforts. 
Does anyone happen to have any tips to tackle this?
Thanks!
31mm
1) Had a pretty bad day yesterday where my wide legs almost immobilized me. Extensive stretching and Tizanidin returned me to the day before. It is truly a losing battle, and I had to stretch whenever I had the chance to stand still (waiting for bus, in elevator, etc...).
2) I think Dr Betz should've done an IT ban release, which would have given me 2cm~ of lengthening before wide legs set in. Knowing Betz, he probably won't do one. So if you're looking to lengthen > 7-8cm, consider another doctor who does IT band releases unless you are already very flexible.
3) I have also stopped taking Novalgin (Novaminsulfon), as it was almost useless. The 2 drugs that will relieve you of pain is 1) Tizanidin (muscle relaxer) and Ibuprofen (general NSAID painkiller, though not good for bone reneneration). Tramadol was also useless as mentioned previously. I've done a grid-search of every drug combination thrice, to arrive at these conclusions.
4) Physio will have a lot of massages and specific gait training. While useful, it is ultimately up to you to stretch whenever, wherever.
5) Sleep without Tizanidin (2-3 hours). With Tizanidin (4-6 hours).
Congrats on crossing the 3 cm mark, it's definitely a milestone!
Btw, I have too stopped taking Ibuprofen since now I am 10+ days post-surgery.
Right now, there are only 2 pain killers prescribed: Tramadol and Novalgin. I have been taking these and the pain has been relatively low.
I know the hardships you are going through right now, but just think about the end goal and keep moving forward!
I wish you good luck.
Left: 41.14mm | Right: 37.24mm
Hey guys
1) I got my first 6-week post-op x-ray. The nails/screws are perfectly in place. Callus is growing strong. Walking with crutches really reduces the burden on the implants.
2) Clicking pain has been minor. However, my right leg still takes significantly more strength and time to click. I would say on average, 0.78mm each leg would take an hour in total.
3) Good news aside, my first worry is the angling of the femur head and shaft (in red lines) it is not straight compared to my left femur. This is due to the wide marrow on my right leg and has been like this since after the operation. Betz said it won't be a problem, but I am still concerned.
4) The 2nd worry (also visible in the x-ray) is that my wide-legs is beginning to immobolize me. I am essentially swinging side to side instead of walking forward. I am also stretching as much as humanly possible, to the extend that my hip and knees are starting to hurt. At this rate I probably won't be able to walk by 5cm. I am seriously considering an ITB release, which I think any good surgeon should have recommended for a patient with tight ITB in the beginning...
Hello SirStretchALot.
Congrats on reaching the 4 cm mark. That’s almost 50% of the lengthening done!
Your callus growth looks fantastic. Regarding the alignment of bone, I have seen a couple of X-rays on this forum with similar case. So, I assume this is nothing new and hopefully will turn out all good as Dr. Betz says.
Regarding wide legs, are you doing stretches to explicitly target the IT bands? If yes, which stretches?
Also, I was curious about why did you lengthen your left and right leg at different rates?
Quote from: chasing_higher_dream on June 18, 2021, 11:20:30 AMHello SirStretchALot.
Congrats on reaching the 4 cm mark. That’s almost 50% of the lengthening done!
Your callus growth looks fantastic. Regarding the alignment of bone, I have seen a couple of X-rays on this forum with similar case. So, I assume this is nothing new and hopefully will turn out all good as Dr. Betz says.
Regarding wide legs, are you doing stretches to explicitly target the IT bands? If yes, which stretches?
Also, I was curious about why did you lengthen your left and right leg at different rates?
Haiya chasing,
Yeah I really hope the alignment turns out well, or it will structurally widen my legs :/
I widen/close my legs 50-100 times per set while laying my back on a flat surface. It's what Dr Betz personally demonstrated in the hospital as his most effective stretching exercise.
According to my pre-op x-ray my left femur was 5mm shorter than my right. However, the most recent x-ray showed that my left was 2mm longer which means I over-adjusted 2mm (likely due to initial surgical gap). It's important to take length references from multiple x-rays. Fixing length differences at the end based on one x-ray may not be the best practice.
47.12/44.26mm
Hey guys, my leg abduction (wide legs) has reached 58cm when standing still. This is making my entire body swing when trying to walk. The gait is also making basic mobility exhausting.
My quads, hipflexors are completely flexible. I lost some hamstring but it is not affecting my daily routine. Stretching is working for everything but the IT band, which continues to ache during sleep and widen my legs.
To this end, I have consulted several European LL surgeons and have decided with Dr Giotikas since he had a surgical slot on July 1. To my surprise, he only charged 2250 euros for the consultation, operation, anesthasia, and 3 day hospital stay. This is extremely inexpensive. This is a simple procedure but I doubt he's making any money from this. There are still fantastic doctors in this world who don't want to profit from patient complications!
On the brightside, I am officially over the 50% mark. Sleep has improved after taking muscle relaxants before sleep. I can now sleep sound for a full 6 hours, and roll in my bed for another 2 hours.
Will update again after my ITB release. I personally recommend prospective patients who wish to lengthen >5cm in their femurs to only go with doctors who perform it. It is such a deal breaker, as there's no reason to fly to another country for a second surgery.
Nice mate. Wishing you best of luck for the release. Keen to hear how you recover from it and how your wide legs are afterwards as I have mine booked for end of July.
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